Camp information and Directions Clearwater Crossing Registration form 2026 Clearwater Crossing Vicinity maps Clearwater Crossing (4)
FROM THE DESK OF JOHN AILPORT, GOH TRAIL BOSS: April 2026
Registration for the 2026 Men’s Ride at Clearwater Crossing is now open, it’s time to start making plans!
As discussed, our Men’s Ride this year is planned for Sunday June 14th through Saturday, June 20th. The group is heading to western Montana to Clearwater Crossing, southwest of Alberton, MT. We will move in on Sunday, June 14th and our first meal will be served that evening at 6pm. We have rides planned each day and will be back in camp each evening for meals and comradery. Our cook Robin will be providing the meals, with breakfast and dinner in camp, and a sack lunch for the trail. As I mentioned this is the first time since I have been riding with the group that we will be heading east into Montana for our ride, but I have been told in the past 78 years the group has traveled to the state before, but not to this specific area. Great opportunity to explore new country! Trails in the Clearwater Crossing are well developed and have been used for decades for horse packing, so they are well marked and we have several maps that we can share with the group. I included 4 vicinity maps as an attachment to this email so folks can get a rough Idea of the terrain and how to get there. A fire burned through the crossing in 2015 that burned down some USFS Cabins and corrals. Since then, the Forest Service has been rebuilding the cabin and continues to maintain the trails in the area. Trails are in good shape, but always with fire areas some clean out of trails may be required. A few of us may plan a weekend and go up and do a little trail clearing so things will be in good shape for our June ride!
We have permission from the USFS to camp near the corrals that they use for housing their pack string during the summer months. Since they will be needing the grass to graze their stock, we won’t be able to use their pastures during the ride but we have designated an area of us to camp. The campground is undeveloped, but we did agree that we would keep our horses out of the public camp and will most likely confine the stock to a large area just above camp with plenty of options for highlines, corrals or electric fences. There is a good creek for stock water right in camp, and we plan to bring in our normal outhouses for the week. We will also need to camp in a fairly confined area, to allow for others to use the area if desired, but there should be plenty of room for our group.
We plan to do something a little different this year with an optional overnight pack trip into a high mountain lake on Thursday night of the ride. This will put us back in camp on Friday afternoon, so Robin our cook has agreed to stay until breakfast on Saturday morning for the last meal. This will be exciting opportunity for those who like to do a little fishing or just relax at a high mountain lake for an evening! Robin is working on a meal plan and wants to get things organized as soon as possible. So if you are thinking that you would like to attend, please let me know prior to May 10th. Registration deadline will be May 25th to get the best price for your ride, but for planning purposes please send me a message and let me know if you plan on coming out and riding with this exceptional group of Gentlemen! The cost for the week is $325 (the same as last year), and an extra $25 if you sign up for the overnight pack trip, giving you an additional dinner and breakfast for Friday night into Saturday Morning. As I mentioned, to help keep the costs down for the cook, she would like to start preparing early so let me know as soon as you can if you are interested in making the ride this year! Registration form is included with this email.
I will also work on adding the registration form to the website under upcoming events and putting this info on there as well so if you know someone who might be interested in coming, you can forward them this message or send them to our website. www.gentlemenonhorseback.com
We are planning a Fall Men’s and Ladies rides ride, and we have tentatively adjusted the dates since there was a conflict with the cook. Ride tentatively set for Friday September 18th through Sunday September 20th , so save the date! We will keep you posted as we put together our plans.
I hope to see you all in June and reach out to someone that hasn’t been in a while and invite them along, it’s going to be a great ride!
Don’t forget, we are camping on USFS ground so weed certified hay is required, and for most of us traveling out of state need to remember to get a Coggins test and health certificate to travel into Montana.
Also, there should be 6 attachments to this email: Registration form, camp information and directions, Vicinity map (should have 4 maps in the attachment) and 3 pictures from the camp taken during our recon last fall.
Let me know if you have any questions.
John Ailport
GOH
Trail boss
Gentlemen on Horseback 